Tony%20Lastoria Archive

As we move into June the Indians are five games over .500 and a half game out of first place, something a lot of Indians fans thought was not possible back in spring training. Tony touches on that, but he also looks at the Indians' struggles in the left-handed relief department and what their options are there, the turnaround of Ubaldo Jimenez, what the Indians do with Lou Marson when he returns, and gives the details on the upcoming MLB Draft.

Thanks to the holiday weekend, today’s edition of Minor Happenings is the only edition this week, but have no fear, it is a doozy. In today’s extended edition Tony takes a look at the struggles that Trevor Bauer is having in Columbus, what his problem is, and what he needs to do to get himself right. He also looks at the recent adjustments made by Matt Packer, the strides Lonnie Chisenhall is making, shares some comments from the front office on pitchers like Austin Adams, Jordan Cooper, Trey Halley and others, provides several injury updates, and discusses several prospects like Danny Salazar, Tyler Holt, Fabio Martinez, Anthony Santander and more!

The Cleveland Indians have announced that catcher Lou Marson will begin a minor league rehab assignment on Wednesday night with Double-A Akron. If there are no setbacks, his rehab assignment will be transferred to Triple-A Columbus on Friday.

It is time for another edition of “Coach's Corner” hear at the IBI, a monthly piece where Tony sits down with a coach in the Indians minor league system and really break down and discuss several players on the roster as well as some of the general philosophies they are teaching. He recently had a chance to sit down with Low-A Lake County pitching coach Steve Karsay and talked about the strides left-hander Ryan Merritt has made, the changes right-hander Jake Sisco has incorporated, the rise of right-hander Michael Peoples, the full season debuts of right-handers Dylan Baker and Mitch Brown, and tons more.

The Indians had a quieter night than usual on Tuesday night around the farm thanks to Low-A Lake County's rainout. All three of Columbus, Akron and Carolina were in action and really struggled, and Tony chimes in with the notable performances from all three stops and discusses the struggles of Rob Whitenack.

Smoke Signals is back on the cyberwaves tonight from 10:00pm – 11:00pm EST. In tonight's episode, Tony and Jim discuss the rough week the Indians had losing six of their last seven and four in a row going into Tuesday's game, the issues with Pestano and Perez at the backend of the bullpen, the lack of left-handed relief, the play of Carlos Santana and Yan Gomes and when/if a change will eventually come at catcher, and much more.

The Cleveland Indians today announced that they have placed right-handed pitcher Chris Perez on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder soreness and recalled left-handed pitcher Nick Hagadone from Triple-A Columbus.

The Indians and their fans have a growing concern about the lack of command and vellocity from top flight setup man Vinnie Pestano. Those problems came to the surface on Saturday when he was very ineffective in a blown save, and Tony touches on his issues. He also discusses the overuse of Jason Giambi, how Lou Marson fits into things, the best offseason move maybe being Aviles and Gomes for Rogers, when Brett Myers will return and much more

The Cleveland Indians today announced that they have designated left-handed pitcher David Huff for assignment and recalled left-handed pitcher Scott Barnes from Triple-A Columbus.

Memorial Day weekend is upon us, which is a great time to enjoy some good weather, some baseball, and most importantly remember and honor all of the veterans out there. In today’s Happenings, Tony touches on the promotion of Chun Chen and his blistering performance to date and what it could mean for him as a major league option going forward. He also provides comments from Ross Atkins on players like Danny Salazar, LeVon Washington, Francisco Lindor and others, talks about Austin Adams’ amazing return, and provides insight and information on Carlos Carrasco, Roberto Perez, Tyler Naquin, Dorssys Paulino and more!

The Cleveland Indians announced on Tuesday afternoon that first baseman Nick Swisher has been placed on the paternity list and infielder Cord Phelps has been recalled from Triple-A Columbus.

In this week’s first edition of Minor Happenings in the Indians’ farm system, Tony touches on the strides that Cody Anderson is making as a prospect, provides tons of comments from the front office on some of the pitching options at Triple-A Columbus like Danny Salazar, Preston Guilmet, Matt Langwell and Giovanni Soto, and also touches on a few hitters with the return of Tony Wolters to Carolina and the strides he is making as a hitter and catcher and also an in depth look at the promotion of Chun Chen and his future in the organization. In addition to that, he provides lots of insight and information on several other prospects in the organization.

Smoke Signals is back on the cyberwaves tonight from 10:00pm – 11:00pm EST. In tonight's episode, Tony and Jim discuss the results of the first game of a brief but big two-game set with the Detroit Tigers. In addition to that they will discuss what may have been the best offseason move by the Indians flipping Esmil Rogers for Mike Aviles and Yan Gomes, the rebound of Ubaldo Jimenez and his important start coming up against Justin Verlander on Wednesday, who is hot in the minors, and more!

The Indians just passed the quarter pole in their season, which is typically the time when everyone will reassess the team. Sitting at 24-17 and winners of 16 of their last 20 games, the Indians are playing well and hitting on all cylinders. They are right on pace with the starts they had in 2011 and 2012 before they fizzled in each of those seasons, so will this season be any different? Tony touches on that as he takes a quick look at things at the quarter pole, and he also touches on the key components to their turnaround, the decision to send down Lonnie Chisenhall, what Trevor Bauer need to do to stay permanently in Cleveland, and more.

In this week’s week-ending edition of Minor Happenings, Tony provides a bevy of updates on the walking wounded in the Indians system with players such as Alex Monsalve, Chen-Chang Lee, Shawn Armstrong, Joey Wendle and a half a dozen others. On top of that he provides several comments and insight from the Indians front office on players at Low-A Lake County like Anthony Santander, Eric Haase and others. He also touches on the recent good play of outfielder Tim Fedroff and his big league chances, and provides insight and analysis on the likes of Jeremy Hermida, Jesus Aguilar, Cody Anderson, Jeremy Lucas and others.

In this week’s first edition of the Happenings, I provide an update on what is going on out in Arizona with several players participating in extended spring training. I recently had a chance to sit down with the player development staff and discuss several players and I provide lots of comments from them on players such as D’Vone McClure, Josh McAdams, Tyler Booth, Kieran Lovegrove, Luis Lugo, Dillon Howard, and more. I also provide the details on Cord Phelps’ new role, the plans for Danny Salazar this season, and insight and info on the likes of Tim Fedroff, Jordan Cooper, Enosil Tejeda, Jake Sisco and more.